JP2011124225A - Connector equipped with sub-connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of connecting with a counterpart connector without a lever electrically contacting. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 1 connectable with a counterpart connector 2, is provided with a connector housing 3 with main terminals connectable to terminals of the counterpart connector, a lever 5 arranged displaceably between an open position and a closed position on the connector housing, and operating so as the connector to connect to the counterpart connector in an insertion direction due to the displacement of the lever, and a sub-connector 10 having sub-terminals connectable to sub-terminals of the counterpart connector. In the connector, the sub-connector is at the connector housing and arranged displaceably between a first position and a second position, and the lever is coupled to the sub-connector over at least a part of a displacement path of the lever for displacing the sub-connector. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector that can be connected to a counterpart connector, and particularly to a connector for connecting a lead wire through which a high current flows.

  Among the connectors that can be connected to the mating connector, there are a connector housing having a main terminal connectable to the mating connector terminal, the connector housing being displaceable between an open position and a closed position, and in the connector housing. There is a lever that is arranged to be displaceable from the open position to the end position, and the lever is displaced to connect the connector to the mating connector. The connector also includes a sub-connector having a sub-terminal that can be connected to the sub-terminal of the counterpart connector.

  Such connectors are disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. The sub-connector is a part of the lever, and the lever is rotated from the open position to the closed position, using the mounting contour on the lever and the mounting cam on the mating connector to turn the connector into the mating connector. Connecting. The lever having the mounting contour allows the connector to be connected to the mating connector with a small external force. Further, the connection using the lever enables a smooth and parallel insertion of the connector, and such a smooth and parallel insertion is particularly necessary in a connector device having a large number of terminals to be connected.

  A sub-connector having a terminal that can be connected to a terminal of a sub-connector in the counterpart connector (hereinafter, this sub-connector is referred to as a sub-mate connector) is provided so that the correct connection of the connector device can be inspected. The sub-connector is a part of the lever. The lever can be pivoted so as to be displaced from the closed position where the main terminals of the connector device are connected to each other to the end position. When the lever is located at this end position, the terminal of the sub connector can be connected to the terminal of the sub mating connector. And only when the switch is operated by the control device to form a closed main circuit, a current flows through the main terminal. This is particularly necessary in a connector device through which a high current flows. In this way, it is possible to reduce the risk of an operator coming into contact with a component in which current is flowing.

US Pat. No. 6,619,970 US Pat. No. 6,755,673

  An object of the present invention is to provide the connector described above in which the lever does not come into electrical contact.

  This object is achieved by a connector having the features of claim 1. Preferred forms are described in the claims which refer to claim 1.

  Thus, the sub-connector is another component that is displaceably guided in the connector housing. There is a mechanical connection between the lever and the sub-connector, and the lever itself does not have any contact elements.

  The connector is connected to the mating connector by moving the lever from the open position to the closed position, whereby the main terminal of the connector is also connected to the main terminal of the mating connector. When the lever is moved from the closed position to the end position, the connector is not further displaced, and the main terminals remain in contact with each other.

  The sub-connector is preferably slidably guided in the connector housing. This is particularly advantageous when the connector is slidable in the insertion direction of the connector. Therefore, the cable of the sub mating connector in the mating connector can be installed in the same direction as the cable of the main terminal of the mating connector. Therefore, since there is no cable that must be installed transversely to the cable of the main terminal, the required space can be small, and a more compact configuration is realized. Furthermore, if the cables extend transversely to the main terminal cable, they must be sealed separately to the component in which the mating connector is provided.

  Furthermore, the subconnector is already partially inserted into the sub mating connector while the connector is connected to the mating connector, and is disposed within the fully inserted connector already in the starting position. The sub-connector starting from this starting position needs to be displaced by a small amount of displacement in order to be completely inserted. Therefore, a small displacement passage of the lever is required and the sub-connector is moved across it. Therefore, the mounting space that must be provided for the displacement of the lever is small.

  The lever is preferably provided so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position, and is provided in the connector housing so as to be displaceable from the closed position to the end position. In this case, the lever is slidable transversely with respect to the insertion direction of the connector.

  The sub-connector operates to operate a separate switch, and the main lead wire to which the main terminal is connected can be switched on or off using the switch. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent an operator from unexpectedly contacting a terminal through which a current flows. Only when the connector is fully inserted can the sub-connector be connected and the main lead can be switched on. While separating the connectors, the lever should be transverse to the connector insertion direction to ensure a time difference between the sub-connector separation and the main lead switch-off and the entire connector separation. It needs to be displaced and then needs to be rotated so that the connector is separated opposite to the insertion direction. In order to increase the time difference, a locking device is additionally provided, which prevents the lever from being displaced from the closed position to the open position. Thus, first of all, the pivoting of the lever for complete separation of the connector is also prevented. In this case, the locking device can be manually unlocked to allow movement of the lever to the open position. Thus, the lever can be initially displaced from the end position to the closed position. The locking device must then be first unlocked manually so that the lever can be pivoted to the open position. Therefore, after the sub-connector has been separated, further manual operations must be performed to result in a larger time difference in the complete disconnection process of the connector. Therefore, after the sub-connector is separated and when the main lead wire is switched off, a sufficient time can be used when no current is present at the main terminal.

  The locking device has at least one locking arm that engages behind the lever in the closed position to prevent the lever from being displaced to the open position.

  In this case, it is possible to realize that the lock arm is unlocked at the closed position of the lever and that the lock arm is prevented from being unlocked at the end position of the lever. In order to avoid unlocking, the lever can be arranged such that it cannot be operated manually or is prevented from moving to the unlocked position, for example by further components of the lever.

  The connection of the lever and the sub-connector can be realized by providing an inclined portion, whereby the lever is displaced by the displacement from the closed position to the end position.

  For this purpose, one of the components, i.e. the lever or the sub-connector, has at least one groove, which is at least partly inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the connector in the closed position of the lever. And extended. The other of the two components, i.e. the sub-connector or lever, has a cam that engages at least one groove. In this case, the cam and the groove are arranged so that they are moved by displacing the lever in a direction starting from the closed position and moving toward the end position while being engaged with each other. It is designed so that the levers are not yet engaged with each other in the closed position, and the levers can be freely rotated.

  Furthermore, the connector housing has two support cams. The lever has two support grooves, so that it is connected around and fixed to the support cam and the lever is held pivotably around the support cam. Since the support grooves are formed straight, they extend transverse to the insertion direction of the connector when the lever is in the closed position or when it extends in the direction of the lever displacement path from the closed position to the end position. .

  The support grooves have an extension at each end thereof, and the lever is pivotable about the support cam when the support cam is disposed within the extension.

  The support cams are flattened in cross section over at least part of their length, and the lever is guided axially displaceable with the support grooves relative to the support cam. The minimum width of the flattened cross section of the support cam is adapted to the width of the support groove so that the lever is prevented from rotating.

  Next, preferred embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

It is a perspective view of the connector concerning the present invention in the state connected to the other party connector. It is a side view of the connector which concerns on this invention in a non-connection state, and a mating connector. FIG. 2 is a side view of the mating connector and connector of FIG. 1 in a starting position before connection and a lever in an open position. FIG. 2 is a side view of the mating connector and connector of FIG. 1 in a connected position and a lever in a closed position. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mating connector and connector of FIG. 4. FIG. 2 is a side view of the mating connector and connector of FIG. 1 in a connected position and a lever in an end position. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mating connector and connector of FIG. 6. It is a perspective view of a lever. It is a perspective view of a connector housing. It is a perspective view of a sub connector. It is a longitudinal direction fragmentary sectional view of a locking device.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a connector 1 according to the present invention in a state of being connected to a counterpart connector 2. The connector 1 includes a connector housing 3 having four accommodating chambers 4, and each accommodating chamber 4 is provided with a main terminal 29 in the form of a female terminal for the main lead wire (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 5). 7). The main terminal 29 is connected to the main terminal 30 in the form of a pin-type terminal of the corresponding mating connector 2 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The connector housing 3 is provided with a lever 5 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis S of the connector housing 3. The lever 5 acts to connect the connector 1 to the mating connector 2 with a small force, as in a known connector having a lever. For this reason, the lever 5 is basically U-shaped and has mounting curved portions 6 on both leg portions 19 and 20, and the mounting cam 7 of the mating connector can be inserted into the mounting curved portions. It is. The lever 5 is rotatable between an open position shown in FIG. 3 and a closed position shown in FIG. Note that the open position, a state where the longitudinal direction is the position of the lever 5 in the tilt parallel to the insertion direction P ₁ of the connector housing 3, and a closed position, perpendicular to the insertion direction P ₁ of the connector housing 3 In this state, the longitudinal direction of the lever 5 is located at an inclination. While the lever 5 is inserted into the mating connector 2, the mounting cam 7 of the mating connector 2 is inserted into the mounting curved portion 6. At this time, the lever 5 is in the open position. Then between the connector 1 lever 5 to rotate from the open position in the direction of the arrow P ₃ in FIG. 3 to the closed position, it is pulled in the insertion direction P ₁ which is aligned parallel to the longitudinal direction L of the connector Go deeper into the mating connector 2. This is because the mounting curved portion 6 is formed so as to act on the mounting cam 7 with a certain force during the rotation of the lever 5. The force required to connect the main terminal 29 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) of the connector to the main terminal of the mating connector 2 while the connector 1 is pulled closer to the mating connector 2 by the action of the lever 5 is It's small.

  In order to ensure the rotation of the lever 5, the lever 5 has support grooves 9 in the leg portions 19 and 20. In the lever 5, the support cam 8 of the connector housing 3 is inserted into the support groove 9. Further, this allows the lever 5 to be displaced in the transverse direction of the longitudinal direction L along the displacement direction V from the closed position shown in FIG. 4 to the end position shown in FIG.

  Further, the connector housing 3 has a sub-connector 10 arranged in parallel to be slidable in the longitudinal direction L. During the sliding of the lever 5 from the closed position to the end position, the sub-connector 10 is connected to the lever 5 so that the sub-terminal of the sub-connector 10 is connected to the sub-terminal of the counterpart connector 2. The sub-connector 10 has a cam 11 extending in the lateral direction, and the cam 11 is guided along a displacement path of the lever 5 in the groove 12 of the leg portions 19 and 20 of the lever 5.

  The mating connector 2 serves to be mounted on a component, for example, an automobile, and has a plate portion 13 for that purpose. The plate portion is attached by means of a mounting screw 14 to the component, for example an automobile.

  Since the main function of the lever, that is, connecting the connector 1 to the counterpart connector 2 with a small force is known from the current technology, a detailed description of this technology is omitted. In this regard, see Patent Documents 1 and 2 described in the background art.

  Next, the connection of the lever 5 with respect to the connector housing 3 will be described in more detail. For this connection, the lever 5 has a support groove 9 inserted by a support cam 8. In the open position of the lever 5, the support cam 8 is arranged in the extension 15 of the support groove 9. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, the support cam 8 protrudes laterally from the connector housing 3, and has a shaft portion 16 disposed near the connector housing 3 and an enlarged cross-section disposed away from the connector housing. And a head 17. The support cam 8 has the same width as a whole when viewed in the longitudinal direction L, and its enlarged portion is flattened. The support cam 8 has a longer displacement direction V, and the head 17 projects beyond the shaft portion 16 in the displacement direction V. The support cam 8 is formed so that the width in the longitudinal direction L is substantially the same as the width of the support groove 9. However, in the displacement direction V, since the shaft portion 16 is longer than the width of the support groove 9 (FIG. 8), the lever 5 rotates with respect to the connector housing 3 so that the support groove 9 is aligned in parallel with the displacement direction V. Only then can the lever 5 then be displaced in the displacement direction V with respect to the support cam 8. At this time, the support cam 8 can be pushed into the support groove 9. Since the support cam 8 is longer than the width of the support groove 9, the support cam 8 cannot enter the support groove 9 starting from the extension 15 in all other pivot positions of the lever 5. A recess 18 is provided around the extension 15 in order to still allow the rotation path to be restricted. The recess 18 extends over an angle of 90 °. The part of the head 17 that extends beyond the shaft 16 enters the recess 18 so that the lever 5 can be displaced across a 90 ° pivot path, as can be seen in particular in FIGS.

  For connecting the lever 5 and the sub-connector 10, a groove 12 is provided in the leg portions 19 and 20. The groove 12 extends in parallel with the support groove 9. Specifically, the groove 12 starts at the first part of the legs 19, 20 and extends away from the support groove 9. Following a part of the groove 12 extending parallel to the support groove 9, another part is provided in the groove 12 that is further away from the support groove 9 and close to the mating connector 2 when viewed in the closed position of the lever 5 (see FIG. 1). ). At least another portion (sometimes referred to as an inclined portion) of these grooves 12 approaching each other extends in the second portions of the legs 19 and 20. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 8, the first portions of the leg portions 19 and 20 are further separated from each other than the second portion. A shoulder 21 is formed in the middle of the two parts, and the shoulder forms an opening 22 that becomes each groove 12.

The plurality of cams 11 of the sub-connector 10 protrude laterally from the sub-connector 10 and extend parallel to the rotation axis S (FIG. 10). Since the cam 11 is sized to fit between the first portions of the leg portions 19 and 20, the cam 11 is opened to the opening 12 of the groove 12 by rotating the lever 5 to the closed position. The cam 11 enters between the two legs 19 and 20 until it comes to the front. By displacing the lever 5 in the displacement direction indicated by the arrow P ₂ (FIG. 4) parallel to the displacement direction V, the cam 11 is slid from the first part to the second part of the lever 5 and consequently inserted into the groove 12. Since the lever 5 is displaced during the displacement of the inclined portion of the groove 12 in the direction toward the mating connector 2, the sub-connector 10 is connected. The sub-connector 10 is similarly separated by displacing the lever 5 in the direction opposite to the arrow P ₂ (FIG. 4) parallel to the displacement direction V. hits, and it is displaced by these contrary to the insertion direction P _1.

A particularly advantageous point is that the sub-connector 10 is inserted in the same insertion direction P ₁ as the connector 1. Therefore, the connector 1 is already connected to the counterpart connector 2, that is, the lever 5 is moved from the open position to the closed position, but the sub-connector 10 does not bring the sub terminals 31 and 32 into contact with each other. It has already been partially inserted into the sub mating connector 33 that is a part of the mating connector 2. The complete connection of the sub-connector 10 to the sub-mate connector 33 and the contact of the sub-terminals 31, 32 are achieved only by the axial displacement of the lever 5 from the closed position to the end position. The passage through which the sub-connector 10 and the lever 5 must pass by partial insertion of the sub-connector 10 before full connection is the case of a known connector if the full insertion passage of the sub-connector 10 at the lever 5 must be achieved. Like, smaller.

  Furthermore, a locking device 23 is provided in the connector housing 3. In this case, the locking device is a so-called Connector Position Assurance Device. The locking device 23 operates to fix the lever 5 at least in the closed position so as not to rotate. In the lock device 23, the lever 5 includes a lock arm 24 disposed on the legs 19 and 20, and one lock arm 24 is assigned to each leg 19 and 20. Each lock arm 24 is provided with a locking projection 25. While the lever 5 rotates from the open position to the closed position, the locking protrusion 25 engages behind the lock surface 26 of the lever 5 and prevents the lever 5 from rotating back to the open position. To do. In order for the lever 5 to move into the open position, the locking arm 24 must first be pushed inward, so that the locking projection 25 no longer engages behind the locking surface 26 and the lever 5 is turned. Can move into the open position. In this case, the locking protrusion 25 is formed so that the movement of the lever 5 from the open position to the closed position can be performed without manually operating the lock arm 24. When the lever 5 moves from the open position to the closed position, the locking protrusion 25 automatically moves quickly behind the locking surface 26 of the lever 5.

  The lock surface 26 is a part of a lock groove 27 (FIG. 11) inside the legs 19 and 20 that extends parallel to the support groove 9. Therefore, the lever 5 can be displaced in the displacement direction V. Since each lock arm 24 is covered with a part of leg parts 19 and 20 in the end position of lever 5, it cannot approach to a lock arm by hand. Only when the lever 5 is in the closed position can the lock arm 24 be reached and unlocked by hand.

  Here, the features of the connector including the above-described sub-connector of the present invention will be briefly summarized in the following items (i) to (xii).

(I) a connector housing (3) having a main terminal connectable to a terminal of the mating connector (2);
A lever (5) disposed in the connector housing (3) so as to be displaceable between an open position and a closed position, and displaceable from the closed position to an end position in the connector housing (3);
A sub-connector (10) having a sub-terminal connectable to a sub-terminal of the counterpart connector (2);
With
A connector (2) connectable to the counterpart connector (2), wherein the lever (5) acts to connect the connector (1) in an insertion direction with respect to the counterpart connector (2) by displacement of the lever (5). 1)
The sub-connector (10) is disposed so as to be displaceable between a first position and a second position in the connector housing (3),
In order to displace the sub-connector (10), the lever (5) has at least a part of a displacement passage of the lever (5) connected to the sub-connector (10).
(Ii) The connector according to the item (i), wherein the sub-connector (10) is slidably guided in the connector housing (3).
(Iii) The connector according to the above item (ii) relating to the present invention, wherein the sub-connector (10) is slidable in the insertion direction of the connector (1).
(Iv) The lever (5) is rotatable between an open position and a closed position, and is slidable from the closed position to an end position. The connector of any one of -iii).
(V) A lock device (23) for preventing displacement of the lever (5) from the closed position to the open position is provided. The connector according to any one of iv).
(Vi) The locking device (23) engages behind the lever (5) in the closed position and displaces the lever to prevent it from entering the open position (24). The connector according to the item (v) described above relating to the present invention.
(Vii) The lock arm (24) can be unlocked at the closed position of the lever (5) and is protected from being unlocked at the end position of the lever (5). The connector according to the item (vi) described above relating to the present invention.
(Viii) The sub-connector (10) is connected to the lever (5) by an inclined portion when the lever (5) is displaced from the closed position to the end position. The connector according to any one of the above-described explanation items (i to vii).
(Ix) One of the two components, i.e. the lever (5) or the sub-connector (10), has at least one groove (12), which groove is the said of the lever (5). In the closed position, it extends at least partially inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the connector (1), and the other of the two components, ie the sub-connector (10) or the lever (5). Has a cam (11) which engages with the at least one groove (12), the connector of item (viii) as described above in relation to the present invention.
(X) The connector housing (3) has a plurality of support cams (8), the lever (5) has two support grooves, and the levers are used by using the two support grooves. (5) is inserted into the outside of the support cam (8) and is held rotatably with respect to the support cam (8). The connector according to any one of the above.
(Xi) The two support grooves each have an extended portion (15) at one end, and the lever (5) has the support cam (8) disposed in the extended portion (15). The connector of the above-mentioned explanation item (x) relating to the present invention, characterized in that it can sometimes be rotated.
(Xii) The support cam (8) has a flat cross section, and the lever (5) is guided by the support groove so as to be axially displaceable with respect to the support cam (8). 5) The connector of the above-mentioned explanation item (xi) according to the present invention, wherein the minimum width of the support cam (8) is adapted to the width of the support groove so as to prevent the rotation of the support cam (8) .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Opposite connector 3 Connector housing 4 Accommodating chamber 5 Lever 6 Curved part for attachment 7 Cam for attachment 8 Support cam 9 Support groove 10 Sub connector 11 Cam 12 Groove 13 Plate part 14 Attachment screw 15 Extension part 16 Shaft part 17 Head 18 recess 19 leg 20 leg 21 shoulder 22 opening 23 lock device 24 lock arm 25 lock projection 26 lock surface 27 lock groove 28 recess 29 main terminal (female terminal)
30 Main terminal (pin terminal)
31 Sub-terminal (pin terminal)
32 Sub-terminal (female terminal)
33 Sub mating connector L Longitudinal direction P ₁ Insertion direction P ₂ Displacement direction P ₃ Rotation direction S Rotation axis V Displacement direction

Claims (1)

A connector housing (3) having a main terminal connectable to a terminal of the mating connector (2);
A lever (5) disposed in the connector housing (3) so as to be displaceable between an open position and a closed position, and displaceable from the closed position to an end position in the connector housing (3);
A sub-connector (10) having a sub-terminal connectable to a sub-terminal of the counterpart connector (2);
With
A connector (2) connectable to the counterpart connector (2), wherein the lever (5) acts to connect the connector (1) in an insertion direction with respect to the counterpart connector (2) by displacement of the lever (5). 1)
The sub-connector (10) is disposed so as to be displaceable between a first position and a second position in the connector housing (3),
In order to displace the sub-connector (10), the lever (5) has at least a part of a displacement passage of the lever (5) connected to the sub-connector (10).

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